You started your online eCommerce business and invested all your energy and efforts in listing the right products and providing an omnichannel experience for your customers. Now it’s time to promote and market your brainchild in the most effective way. However, whether you just started your business or have been in the industry for some time, it’s essential to invest in top eCommerce trends and marketing strategies. But with plenty of marketing strategies already floating around, which one is worth the time and investment? We have selected them for you-
Search engine optimization (SEO) for eCommerce
Let’s start with the most basic yet powerful marketing tool to level up your marketing game in 2021. SEO( Search Engine Optimization) has the highest Return on Investment for any eCommerce marketing campaign. In addition, SEO is one of the most robust methods to improve your website rankings and drive organic traffic towards your website. Consider the following practices to powerpack your SEO game.
- Keyword Research: To find your customers’ most-searched words and queries and create content around what your audience is looking for.
- On-page SEO- Imperative keyword optimization for metatags, headlines, and content.
- Site Architecture- Based on keyword research.
- Technical SEO- Search engines can crawl the website efficiently.
- Local SEO- One of the essential SEO aspects to drive local organic traffic (in case your online website also have a physical store)
- Backlinks and Link Building- To improve your website’s authority.
- Google Analytics, Ahrefs, or SEMrush- Measure whether your SEO activities and efforts generate leads and success.
Promote Original Content
Originality in Marketing is rare, and thus, it has the capacity of making your position stand out from the rest. Therefore, your eCommerce website journey starts with creating unique and compelling content which shall maintain Quality and Originality to uplift your marketing game.
While the space is dominated by the big players and the attention span of users is decreasing, how shall you create your own space and build loyal customers?
This is where Promoting original content makes a statement- Hit on an irresistible idea, give it your touch and leave a never-ending impression on your user’s mind.
Take that extra leap and added efforts on writing pages that can generate you revenue for years to come.
Content marketing
“Content is the king” When it comes to marketing, we repeatedly had a face-off with this! Content Marketing for eCommerce, when done right, can turn more heads towards your business, engagement, amplified leads, and sustainable conversions better than other marketing strategies. By creating and promoting original content, you empower your audience with more knowledge and information that brings them value. When you continuously get informational content on your audience’s table, you gradually increase authority towards that niche which builds trust towards your services.
Content should not necessarily be blog posts or writing articles – it can be fragmented on multiple channels- blog posts, infographics, newsletters, or videos. Your website content includes the home page, landing page, category pages, etc.
Content Marketing is abbreviated as Creative Marketing, which means the team members who brainstorm ideas require being creative in their approach. A personalized approach will make you stand out from the curve and inspire your customers to engage with you, Purchase from you and build a following. Make sure to invest in high-quality software, create high-quality content, and motivate your team to approach out-of-the-box.
Social Media Marketing
A Hootsuite survey recorded-
- 8% of internet users worldwide purchased a product online in 2020.
- Social Media helped 44.8% of global internet users search and land for their desired products or access brand-related information.
- More than half of the internet users between the ages of 16 and 24 research their favorite brands. (51% male and 55.9% female users)
The numbers say it all. Social media for eCommerce marketing is running more vigorously in 2021 and emerged as a powerful tool. You can interact with your customers in a more personal yet public space to build a more extensive base of loyal customers and publicize your product and website effectively. A digital presence goes incomplete without a solid social media presence- it diversifies your abilities and efforts and builds your rich online presence over time. Ensure a reliable, consistent promotional tone across all social media channels to promote trust and avoid creating confusion with your audience. To develop brand recognition and authority, unify your outreach efforts with all your team members and bring them on the same page with how you communicate with your audience.
Your social media marketing strategy should reflect the following steps-
- Promote your eCommerce Website- direct traffic to your website or motivate them to install your application.
- Maintain uninterrupted communication with your customers throughout the buying journey.
- Advertise your products and create brand awareness.
- Utilize the platform to understand your buyer’s persona and journey and learn what entices them and their perspective on your brand.
- eCommerce owners can also leverage the social media platform to sell products directly.
Email marketing
Several marketers across the globe believe Email marketing to be the most underrated yet effective marketing tool. One of the obvious ways to reach your customers is to communicate your services directly and promote your website and products. However, there’s a thin line between spamming and promoting when it comes to emailing your services. That says being careful about the content within your emails and the target specified for it. Make sure you’re sending it to users who have expressly signed up with their email- that way, you are adding a positive impact to your services. Email marketing is a great tool to promote your holiday sales, eye-catching discounts, prize drops on items added on the cart, and one added tip- maintain personalization while you reach out.
Your emails build long-lasting relationships with your customers where you can be transparent about your business, educate them about your product’s new features and keep them engaged.
Study your email marketing efforts and monitor your analytics. Then, upgrade your features, strategies and invest in the best email design practices to satisfy your audience’s experiences.
Retargeting
Let’s be honest- How many times have you seen the ad for the same product which you have been browsing lately and finally ended buying one? Indeed, I have!
That is the power of retargeting ads for your eCommerce website, which works on the principle of tracking customers who have visited a product on the website and selling the same products which customers have already eyed on!
Customers who have shown interest in a specific product on your website and added or browsed them have higher chances of buying it. Therefore, retargeting ads should be created with a particular focus and very specific. They track customers while browsing the internet and display ads to bring them back on the website.
Make sure not to show new products over the already-visited ones, and the ads are directly linked to the product page on the website. So while customers click on the “visit” button( which should be easily visible), they should be directed to the same product.
Optimize for mobile
If you’ve missed out on this in a hurry, we can’t stress enough on getting to it right away!
Several studies have consistently shown the increase of online buyers who use their mobile phones to search for their favorite brands and purchase products. It makes it inevitably essential for eCommerce business owners to make their website responsive on mobile layout and exceptional yet straightforward user experience. Some of the pivotal steps to ensure upon-
- Fast Loading speed on mobile.
- Personalized shopping experience and user experience.
- Specific and compelling Call-to-action buttons and pages.
- List your most important pages (discounts, price drops, etc.) at the beginning.
- No unnecessary pop-ups.
- Straightforward fonts.
Wrapping it up
Staying afloat with current marketing strategies is crucial for your eCommerce business success. However, don’t fall out on interacting and engaging with your customers to understand their preferences and what keeps them coming back to you. This way, you can serve them with your best. Additionally, keep monitoring your website analytics and understand what works best for you. Finally, the right blend and usage of the above techniques can significantly improve your traffic and conversion rates. So which of these are you picking up? Make sure you comment down below.
James Wilson has been a seasoned Content Writer at Net Solutions, New York, for ten years with expertise in blogging, writing creative and technical copy for direct response markets, and B2B and B2C industries. Born and brought up in New York, James holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. He has worked for IT, software product design and development, Lifestyle, and written some great insights on technologies like user experience design, mobile app development, eCommerce, etc. Besides his technical background, he is not very disconnected from the digital in his free time – he loves to binge-watch Netflix.
